Dead Certain: The Martha Moxley Murder

Episode: No Good Deed

Host: Andrew Goldman (NBC News Studios)
Date: November 25, 2025

Overview

This gripping episode of "Dead Certain" reveals the complex chain of choices and fateful missteps that kept the Martha Moxley murder case alive two decades after her death. Host Andrew Goldman guides listeners through the failed efforts of local police, family-commissioned private investigations, and relentless media scrutiny, showing how an internal attempt to clear the Skakel family's name inadvertently set the stage for Michael Skakel—decades after the crime—to become the central suspect. The episode uncovers new layers of dysfunction, denial, and the unpredictable power of secrets and media in shaping criminal justice.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Failed Ruse to Interview Tommy Skakel

Timestamps: 00:56 – 04:19

• 1991: State's Attorney's chief inspector Jack Solomon attempts a scheme to get an interview with Tommy Skakel by feigning interest in photographing the Skakel house as part of an investigation into tutor Ken Littleton (long a key suspect).
• Outcome: The plan fails, and instead Tom Sheridan, the family's lawyer, decides the time is right for an independent investigation to clear the Skakel name.
• Notable insight: The Skakel family's attorneys had a policy of never allowing police direct access to the siblings—a strategy that shaped the investigation for years.

Andrew Goldman (02:25): “Solomon was kind of like the Wile E. Coyote of investigators. His intricate plans… always bring the boulder down on his own head.”

2. The Sutton Associates Investigation

Timestamps: 05:10 – 10:19

• Tom Sheridan hires Jim Murphy of Sutton Associates, a former FBI agent of deep personal faith, to investigate Martha’s murder with the stated goal of bringing forward any Skakel son found to be guilty.
• The Skakel family cooperates fully—interviews, hypnosis, and handing over medical records.
• Jim Murphy’s personal tragedy (losing his son during the Moxley investigation) adds gravitas to his role.
• Initially, the plan works: the investigation is publicly touted as potentially exonerating the Skakels and fingering Littleton.
• Over several years, Sutton investigators fail to find anything conclusive; the investigation drags on, possibly just because the family keeps paying.

Jim Murphy (05:52): “If we were able to prove that one of [Mr. Skakel’s] sons committed this homicide, then he would bring his son forward… an honorable one.”

3. The Game-Changing Leaks and Family Fallout

Timestamps: 10:19 – 12:29

• Newsday journalist Len Levitt reveals in late 1995 that, for the first time, Tommy Skakel has changed his story about the night of Martha's murder—in interviews with Sutton, both he and Michael admitted lying to police.
• Public focus begins to shift: Michael Skakel enters the frame as a possible suspect for the first time due to vague references about his presence near Martha’s house the night she died.
• Family attorneys, realizing Sheridan’s private investigation has backfired spectacularly and produced new evidence rather than exoneration, shut down the Sutton investigation.

Headline: "Lying Brothers. Second Kennedy Kin Admits Lying in Murder Case"

4. Turning Points for the Cold Case

Timestamps: 12:29 – 17:54

• Detective Frank Garr, now solely responsible for the Moxley case, is shocked to learn from the media—not the police file—about these new family admissions. Hopes rise that these shifts could finally break the case.
• Despite new leads, the DA (Don Brown) remains uninterested; the case stays cold.
• “Unsolved Mysteries” coverage, enabled by new public interest, leads to new witnesses and tips.

Jim Murphy (12:29): “I took all of our files, everything, and gave them back to Tommy.”
Andrew Goldman (13:58): “It would seem to be a cause for celebration. But almost immediately, [Garr] was miserable in his new gig. The case was now colder than cold.”

5. The Elan School Confessions and New Evidence

Timestamps: 20:05 – 25:50

• “Unsolved Mysteries” generates a tip from Phil Lawrence, who attended Elan School with Michael Skakel. Rumors at Elan said Michael confessed in group therapy.
• Another alum, Chuck Segan, claims a friend (John Higgins) heard Michael quietly say he killed Martha. Initially, Higgins denies any explicit confession, then, on a follow-up call, does recount: “I killed her.”
• Yet the DA still refuses action. Garr believes he finally has the evidence needed but is stymied by politics and a risk-averse prosecution.

John Higgins (25:07): “He was just sitting there crying… And then he said that. He said, I killed her… I probably gave the guy a hug.”

6. The Bombshell: Michael Skakel’s Changed Story

Timestamps: 28:48 – 37:07

• Michael’s longstanding alibi (that he went to his cousin’s house across town after dinner and never left home upon return) holds for years.
• In 1992, Michael tells Sutton Associates a new version: After returning from Sursum Corda, he snuck out, ran to the Moxley house, and masturbated in a tree outside Martha’s window while drunk—putting himself at the scene of the murder, around the right time.
• The detail is both lurid and incriminating (“Nobody the police had interviewed over the years had ever put themselves so close to the crime scene…”).
• The public doesn’t learn this detail at the time, and police dismiss Michael as a viable suspect because his earlier alibi, corroborated by family, places him miles away at the time of death.

Michael Skakel (memoir, 33:00): “I remember climbing up [the tree]… I pulled my pants out, I masturbated for 30 seconds in the tree… I hope God nobody saw me jerking off… Then went to sleep and I woke up to Mrs. Moxley saying, Michael, have you seen Martha?”

7. The “Worst Case Scenario” Reports and Their Mishandling

Timestamps: 38:20 – 44:09

• Sutton’s young staffer Jamie Bryan is tasked with compiling worst-case scenario documents (how a prosecution might argue each suspect’s guilt—including Michael and Tommy Skakel).
• Despite huge sensitivity, no one makes Bryan sign an NDA; he is allowed to take documents home.
• When the Sutton investigation ends, Bryan turns over most but not all files and keeps the reports.

Jessica Walker, defense attorney (41:28): “That's absolutely crazy. It doesn't make any sense. Nobody, no criminal defense attorney in their right mind would ever say, hey, do you think you could write a report that makes my child look guilty as sin? Who does that?”

8. Media Mayhem: Enter Dominick Dunne

Timestamps: 46:50 – 58:23

• Dominick Dunne, famed Vanity Fair crime writer whose own daughter was murdered, takes up the case, fictionalizing it as "A Season in Purgatory" and later reporting on new evidence and gossip.
• Jamie Bryan, seeking a story byline, passes the confidential Sutton reports to Dunne during a lunch at Patroon in 1996.
• Dunne publicizes the notion of Michael Skakel’s guilt, based on the worst-case scenario documents—not always explaining they are speculative, not fact.

Dominick Dunne (impersonated, 49:54): “I told Mrs. Moxley I thought I could write another book based loosely on her daughter's murder, and it might turn a spotlight on the long dormant case.”

9. How Fantasy Becomes Fact

Timestamps: 57:19 – 58:23

• Dunne reports in Vanity Fair that the Sutton investigation concluded Michael was the likely killer, even though the agency never made this claim (host and source Jim Murphy both confirm this is false).
• Tom Sheridan, ever the information gatekeeper, never shares the documents with Rush Skakel Sr., further clouding the truth.

Jim Murphy (58:17): “Which is not true… I never would have written that.”

10. Setting Up Next Moves

Timestamps: 59:00 – End

• The dramatic convergence of a failed family investigation, tipoffs from Elan School, media leaks, and the interest of tabloid king Dominick Dunne stew together to thrust Michael Skakel—once barely a suspect—into the glare of national suspicion.
• The story ends as ex-LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman (from the O.J. Simpson case) enters the scene, hired by the Moxleys to pursue the truth.

Teaser for Next Episode (60:21):
Michael Skakel: “Why am I being interviewed? I mean, that’s kind of a big question, isn’t it?”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Andrew Goldman on the Skakels' plan:
  “When Rush Skakel hired Sutton Associates, he lit the fuse of a bomb. It was only a matter of time before it blew up his entire family.” [06:29]
• Jim Murphy on the files:
  “I took all of our files, everything, and gave them back to Tommy.” [12:29]
• Chuck Segan relaying John Higgins’ account:
  “Mike said, yeah, I did do it. John goes, what?” [22:31]
• John Higgins’s conflicting memory:
  “Well, I… He never specifically told me that he killed anybody. Never said that.” [23:58]; then, “He said, I killed her. I probably gave the guy a hug.” [25:07]
• Jessica Walker, criminal defense attorney:
  “That’s absolutely crazy. No criminal defense attorney in their right mind would ever say, hey, do you think you could write a report that makes my child look guilty as sin?” [41:28]
• Dominick Dunne's rationale (as per Jack Donahue):
  “When the report was presented to Rushton Skakel, it indicated that Tommy had not killed Martha Moxley… Michael… had in all probability killed her.” [57:35]

Important Timestamps & Segments

• 00:56 – 04:19: Breakdown of the initial failed police ruse and its consequences
• 05:10 – 10:19: The formation and scope of the Sutton Associates investigation
• 10:19 – 11:45: The Newsday leak: Skakel brothers change their stories
• 12:29 – 17:54: Detective Garr becomes the case’s lone torchbearer
• 20:05 – 25:50: Elan School confessions and Higgins' crucial call
• 28:48 – 37:07: Michael Skakel's new version of events and its consequences
• 38:20 – 44:09: Jamie Bryan and the mishandling of sensitive reports
• 46:50 – 58:23: Dominick Dunne, the Vanity Fair exposé, and media’s role
• 59:00 – End: Setup for next episode—Mark Fuhrman and the hunt for confession

Tone & Style

The episode moves between satirical, harrowing, and mournful—balancing skepticism regarding law enforcement and legal maneuvering with compassion for the enduring pain in both the Moxley and Skakel families. There’s a noir sensibility to the host’s narration, and dark humor is interspersed with moments of genuine outrage and pathos.

For New Listeners

This episode is a masterclass in how private interests, media gossip, and personal vendettas can unintentionally ignite a frozen criminal case. It exposes the dangers of DIY justice, the pitfalls of privilege, and the unpredictable consequences when secrets come to light—not always in ways anyone intended. It also serves as a primer in how the truth can be as much a casualty as the victim in such cases.

End teaser:
Next time: Mark Fuhrman enters, and Michael Skakel himself speaks. The circle of suspicion tightens... but will the truth come out?